Religion feature: Cowboy church draws casual crowd

Dusty Leatherwood preaches to his congregation Monday nights in the lobby of Clovis Livestock Auction, about 20 feet from where livestock is sold to the highest bidder.

He preaches from a podium made from a cedar post to a gathering sitting on metal folding chairs. During Leatherwood's sermon, horses and cattle can be heard and the air often smells of livestock. This is cowboy church in Clovis. The service is multidenominational and is attended by people of various area churches.

Leatherwood's congregation is made up of cowboys fresh off the ranch wearing dusty hats, blue jeans, boots and spurs, and youngsters who come from basketball practice sweaty in their uniforms. It also includes recovering alcoholics and drug addicts and homeless people.

According to Leatherwood, cowboy churches are a national phenomenon that began about 15 years ago. He said the service began in Clovis in 1999 to accommodate the church needs of many area cowboys who worked at local feed yards, dairies and ranches on Sunday and could not attend a mainstream church.

Monday night was a convenient meeting time, so cowboys decided to start meeting at the Clovis Livestock Auction, where many worked or often conducted business.

"A lot of cowboys wouldn't go to mainstream church because the stained glass windows, big buildings and putting on a neck tie and a coat didn't impress them," Leatherwood said.

Leatherwood said the church's unconventional service appeals to not only cowboys but many others.

"I think cowboy churches reach out more to people that mainstream churches don't," Leatherwood said.

"We don't look down on you if you don't got no nice clothes. If you got a little smell about you that's OK. It's kind of like meeting Jesus. You come like you are."

Leatherwood said the church collects no offerings and provides no meal but there is coffee, water, cookies and a casual atmosphere.

Leatherwood said most cowboy preachers did not attend seminary but are men who decided to share the knowledge they acquired from Bible study. He said many cowboy pastors attend rodeos and team rope as a hobby. The pastors have full-time jobs and receive no pay for their leadership in church. Leatherwood said they simply preach for the love of it.

Mitch Jones, salesman at One Stop Feed next door to the Clovis Livestock Auction, attended area Baptist churches before attending Clovis cowboy church.

"I've known Dusty for a long time; he's very knowledgeable of the Bible," Jones said.

Jones said Leatherwood's sermon has a Baptist style and is easy to understand. He said he enjoys the relaxed family atmosphere where everybody knows everybody and meeting people is easy.

Fast facts

What: Cowboy Church

Where: Lobby of Clovis Livestock Auction

When: 7 p.m. Mondays

Information: 760-5169